Tivoli Audio M3TPE Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio, Taupe/Cherry

Tivoli Audio M3TPE Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio, Taupe/Cherry

Tivoli Audio M3TPE Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio, Taupe/Cherry

Product Description
Amazon.com Review
For those who like to slumber in style, the Tivoli Model Three is the ultimate wake up call. With an understated cherry wood exterior, and large, easy-to-operate controls, the unit serves as a lesson in simplicity for other manufacturers who insist on making confusing, user-unfriendly clock radios. Although we had a few quibbles with some of the features, as well as the performance, of the Model Three, overall we recommend it is a wonderful bedside companion.

Design
The Model Three incorporates the audio and tuning technology of the Tivoli Model Two, while adding a quartz mechanical movement clock and alarm circuitry. Like other Tivoli radios, the Model Three is just over 8 inches wide, 4.5 inches high, and 5.25 inches deep-- about the size of a toaster turned on its side. It fits well on a desk, dresser, or nightstand.

The Model Three's single rotary dial handles tuning for both AM and FM stations. The dial is designed to move between stations at a speed that is a bit slower than the speed at which the user turns the knob-- a 5 to 1 ratio, to be exact. This "ratio" dialing technique makes it far easier to tune stations accurately and quickly. It's a nice touch that sets the unit apart from other desktop radios.

The tuner band selection and volume dials are easy to control and they're well designed for hands of all sizes. A small LED power indicator, as well as an LED that helps determine signal strength, are positioned between the dials. We did have one gripe about the Model Three's controls, though. Unlike the high-contrast labeling we found on the Platinum Series Model One radio, the Model Three's blue-grey lettering atop a taupe background is difficult to read, especially in low-light situations. We found ourselves struggling to see what station we were tuning and what functions we were selecting-- not something most desire on an alarm clock.

Fortunately, the Model Two's clock is easy to read and simple to set. A rotating bezel on the clock's face adjusts the wake time while a single button on the back rotates the clock forward. These methods allowed us to set the clock and wake times with good accuracy. There's also a sleep timer that shuts the radio off after 20 minutes, allowing you to fall asleep to tunes. We were a little puzzled by Tivoli's decision to power the clock by what we initially thought was simply a AA backup battery (the battery is housed in the rear of the unit). In fact, a battery must be used at all times to power the clock as it does not pull juice from the wall outlet. This means that the battery will need to be checked regularly to ensure accurate timekeeping. When the unit is powered by AC, users can wake to the radio. When the unit is unplugged, however, or if the power goes out, the Model Two will deliver a battery-powered beeping alarm.

A single, 3" driver is positioned on top of the unit and is protected by a handsome metal speaker cover. A five-minute snooze button resides next to the speaker for those times when you just can't roll out of bed right away.

The Model Three shares the same back panel ports as the Model Two's, meaning it can serve as the base unit for a more robust Tivoli stereo system. A coaxial antenna jack for the included FM antenna wire is provided, although the Model Three also has an internal FM antenna. Tivoli recommends using the supplied external one for tricky tuning in locales with a lot of closely-spaced stations. There's a handy switch for switching between the internal and external antennae, as well. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack is also provided, as is a 3.5mm auxiliary line in port for plugging in the Tivoli component CD player, the Model CD. For the really techno-savvy, there's also a 3.5mm mixing input that permits audio from your computer to be mixed in with the radio.

Like the Model Two, the Model Three supports the addition of the Tivoli Companion Speaker for full stereo separation, as well as the Model Subwoofer for extended bass range. There's a small balance dial on the rear of the unit if you choose to add the companion speaker, as well as a mono/stereo switch. If you want to use the Model Three as a component tuner-- not a bad idea given the overall quality and accuracy of the tuning circuitry-- Tivoli has provided a 3.5mm output port.

Listening Pleasure
As with the Tivoli iPal portable speaker system, we were initially skeptical about the performance of a small, one-speaker unit that only offers monaural sound. The reality is that most small two-speaker systems don't allow you to place the speakers very far apart anyway, and the Model Three's rich, resonant sound more than made up for its lack of true stereo separation. Plus, the Model Three is a single, elegant box with no annoying speaker cords. While the Model Three does sound better than the iPal, we did notice that the Model Three, quite mysteriously, does not sound quite as good as the venerable Model One. There is faint but noticeable hiss that is not present in the Model One, and we wondered if the Model One's designer, the late Henry Kloss, had less of a part to play in the Model Three's design.

Overall, though, we found the Model Three's sound impressive, especially coming from such a small unit. In most cases, it delivered rich, resonant sound. The Model Three's tuning felt less accurate than the Model One's but we were still able to dial in stations quickly and easily.

As for its function as an alarm clock, the Model Three was spot on. Not a single tester who relied on the unit was late to work!

Pros

Cons


Product Description:
Tivoli Audio Model 3 Clock Radio - Go shopping today for a clock radio and you'll mostly find big & bright digital displays, the sounds of nature, futuristic designs, and other modern amenities. Tivoli Audio however, takes a different path with the Model 3 Clock Radio. It has a purely analog interface for both the clock, and the AM/FM radio, as well as being designed with an old-fashioned feel. Right down to it's cherry wood cabinet. But while keeping a classic design, it does have modern features and superior audio technology inside. Sleek thumbwheel to set the alarm time Constant, gentle illumination External FM antenna & power supply included Operates on AC power Cherry Wood Finish Weight - 4.5lbs.

Tivoli Audio M3TPE Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio, Taupe/Cherry
Tivoli Audio M3TPE Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio, Taupe/Cherry
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Are you kidding?
  • Best radio out there.
  • Stylish
  • Great Sound but In a Stone Age Clock Radio
  • One of each
 Tivoli Audio M3TPE Model Three AM/FM Clock Radio, Taupe/Cherry

Manufacturer: Tivoli Audio
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

CD Players & RecordersCD Players & Recorders | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics | CD Players | CD Recorders | DJ CD Players | Portable CD Players
CD & Cassette Clock RadiosCD & Cassette Clock Radios | Clock Radios | Radios | Portable Audio & Video | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics
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Product Features:
  • High-performance, easy-to-use analog clock radio with superior sound reproduction
  • Fine quartz mechanical movement ensures accurate timekeeping
  • 20-minute sleep timer, snooze button, and alarm thumbwheel
  • 3-inch full-range driver; expandable with optional stereo speaker and subwoofer
  • Measures 8.375 x 4.5 x 5.25 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty

ASIN: B00009PLIM

Product Description

Tivoli Audio Model 3 Clock Radio - Go shopping today for a clock radio and you'll mostly find big & bright digital displays, the sounds of nature, futuristic designs, and other modern amenities. Tivoli Audio however, takes a different path with the Model 3 Clock Radio. It has a purely analog interface for both the clock, and the AM/FM radio, as well as being designed with an old-fashioned feel. Right down to it's cherry wood cabinet. But while keeping a classic design, it does have modern features and superior audio technology inside. Sleek thumbwheel to set the alarm time Constant, gentle illumination External FM antenna & power supply included Operates on AC power Cherry Wood Finish Weight - 4.5lbs.

Amazon.com Review

For those who like to slumber in style, the Tivoli Model Three is the ultimate wake up call. With an understated cherry wood exterior, and large, easy-to-operate controls, the unit serves as a lesson in simplicity for other manufacturers who insist on making confusing, user-unfriendly clock radios. Although we had a few quibbles with some of the features, as well as the performance, of the Model Three, overall we recommend it is a wonderful bedside companion.

Design
The Model Three incorporates the audio and tuning technology of the Tivoli Model Two, while adding a quartz mechanical movement clock and alarm circuitry. Like other Tivoli radios, the Model Three is just over 8 inches wide, 4.5 inches high, and 5.25 inches deep-- about the size of a toaster turned on its side. It fits well on a desk, dresser, or nightstand.

The Model Three's single rotary dial handles tuning for both AM and FM stations. The dial is designed to move between stations at a speed that is a bit slower than the speed at which the user turns the knob-- a 5 to 1 ratio, to be exact. This "ratio" dialing technique makes it far easier to tune stations accurately and quickly. It's a nice touch that sets the unit apart from other desktop radios.

The tuner band selection and volume dials are easy to control and they're well designed for hands of all sizes. A small LED power indicator, as well as an LED that helps determine signal strength, are positioned between the dials. We did have one gripe about the Model Three's controls, though. Unlike the high-contrast labeling we found on the Platinum Series Model One radio, the Model Three's blue-grey lettering atop a taupe background is difficult to read, especially in low-light situations. We found ourselves struggling to see what station we were tuning and what functions we were selecting-- not something most desire on an alarm clock.

Fortunately, the Model Two's clock is easy to read and simple to set. A rotating bezel on the clock's face adjusts the wake time while a single button on the back rotates the clock forward. These methods allowed us to set the clock and wake times with good accuracy. There's also a sleep timer that shuts the radio off after 20 minutes, allowing you to fall asleep to tunes. We were a little puzzled by Tivoli's decision to power the clock by what we initially thought was simply a AA backup battery (the battery is housed in the rear of the unit). In fact, a battery must be used at all times to power the clock as it does not pull juice from the wall outlet. This means that the battery will need to be checked regularly to ensure accurate timekeeping. When the unit is powered by AC, users can wake to the radio. When the unit is unplugged, however, or if the power goes out, the Model Two will deliver a battery-powered beeping alarm.

A single, 3" driver is positioned on top of the unit and is protected by a handsome metal speaker cover. A five-minute snooze button resides next to the speaker for those times when you just can't roll out of bed right away.

The Model Three shares the same back panel ports as the Model Two's, meaning it can serve as the base unit for a more robust Tivoli stereo system. A coaxial antenna jack for the included FM antenna wire is provided, although the Model Three also has an internal FM antenna. Tivoli recommends using the supplied external one for tricky tuning in locales with a lot of closely-spaced stations. There's a handy switch for switching between the internal and external antennae, as well. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack is also provided, as is a 3.5mm auxiliary line in port for plugging in the Tivoli component CD player, the Model CD. For the really techno-savvy, there's also a 3.5mm mixing input that permits audio from your computer to be mixed in with the radio.

Like the Model Two, the Model Three supports the addition of the Tivoli Companion Speaker for full stereo separation, as well as the Model Subwoofer for extended bass range. There's a small balance dial on the rear of the unit if you choose to add the companion speaker, as well as a mono/stereo switch. If you want to use the Model Three as a component tuner-- not a bad idea given the overall quality and accuracy of the tuning circuitry-- Tivoli has provided a 3.5mm output port.

Listening Pleasure
As with the Tivoli iPal portable speaker system, we were initially skeptical about the performance of a small, one-speaker unit that only offers monaural sound. The reality is that most small two-speaker systems don't allow you to place the speakers very far apart anyway, and the Model Three's rich, resonant sound more than made up for its lack of true stereo separation. Plus, the Model Three is a single, elegant box with no annoying speaker cords. While the Model Three does sound better than the iPal, we did notice that the Model Three, quite mysteriously, does not sound quite as good as the venerable Model One. There is faint but noticeable hiss that is not present in the Model One, and we wondered if the Model One's designer, the late Henry Kloss, had less of a part to play in the Model Three's design.

Overall, though, we found the Model Three's sound impressive, especially coming from such a small unit. In most cases, it delivered rich, resonant sound. The Model Three's tuning felt less accurate than the Model One's but we were still able to dial in stations quickly and easily.

As for its function as an alarm clock, the Model Three was spot on. Not a single tester who relied on the unit was late to work!

Pros

Cons

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Are you kidding?.......2007-06-20

An alarm clock with great design, thats what I thought until I used it. The bright back lighting that other reviewers are annoyed with is understated. I think that it could be used as a homing beacon for the Mothership, no kidding. The sound was decent, but a 200 dollar alarm clock, no way? Bottom line: The company has allocated all of its funds toward advertising a crappy product with a retro design, i.e full page ads in the NY Times, Seattle Times, etc. Thats why the price is high and the functionality is completely lame- the unit is better used as a fishing weight (especially at night for squid fishing with the homing beacon). Save the money and buy your significant other, or yourself, a nice dinner and a bottle of wine.

4 out of 5 stars Best radio out there........2007-06-17

I remeber the first time coming across this raio at a kiosk in the mall. The sound attratced me to the hut and I asked the man there what kind of radio it was. Ever since then I kept the name Tivoli on my mind. Now that I have one I do not regret it. The alarm is great the music is clear and I finally have a new radio after 10 years of the old decreptid ones I used to have. The only thing that really keeps this from being a 5 star is the way you have to set the alarm, which I'm not used to. Also, the fact that they only have satillite radio instead of HD ones. But those are minor things. If you buy this you won't regret it.

3 out of 5 stars Stylish.......2007-05-16

If you've got a few extra dollars kicking around, and want to avoid the cheap $29.95 LED clock-radios, I'd say go for this.

The first thing that struck me, of course, was the retro-like styling. The price put me off for a couple of weeks, then I said "to heck with it", and picked it up. It's got high visual appeal. And even tho the only person who will see it is me, it's still a nice classy touch.

Setup was a little confusing, and like most people set up a clock-radio, I tossed the manual aside. How hard can it be? It's not really hard, but you press-and-hold a button on the back to advance the clock. That's normal for digital clocks, but I expected a stem for an analog clock.

The alarm is set by rotating bezel counter-clockwise. There are little arrows on the bezel which indicate this. The alarm is somewhat imprecise; only one hand indicates the alarm time. If you want to wake up at exactly 6:07am, you'll be a little disappointed. It's is analog of course, so you set it for "around 6:10".

No complaints on the radio. I attached the external antenna and was able to quickly and easily locate my FM radio. I do like the single-style AM/FM tuner. Sound quality was good.

I've looked at other reviews, and several have noted that the clock dial is very bright. Perhaps production has altered, but I find that my clock dial is not bright enough! And I have enough electronics in my house anyways, blinking and solid LEDs are no real distraction. It's been ages since I've slept in real darkness!

I do have some minor nits with it:

The hour and minute hands are not very distinctive. The hour hand is a little thicker, but they're the same length. Or close enough that waking up in the middle of the night might get you a little confused.

The alarm is 12-hours. So make sure you turn the alarm on before you go to bed, and when you wake up, remember to turn it off! Or else it'll go off in the evening, which is probably not what you want. Just a matter of user training, as I'm used to setting my alarm once, and then never touching it.

It would be nice if I could play the radio while the alarm button was enabled.

1 out of 5 stars Great Sound but In a Stone Age Clock Radio.......2007-04-05

Let me start out by saying that I love Tivoli radios. I have a Model Two with a Model Sub-woofer in my living room and truly love the warm, rich sound along with the simple design and good looks. I liked the Model Two so much that I decided to buy the Model Three for the bedroom. Even in Mono mode, the sound is rich and exceptional and the tuner truly does pull in and lock onto FM stations as advertised. It looks beautiful and I had planned to order the up-firing companion speaker and have the ultimate clock radio. The problem I have is that as at least one other reviewer has stated the back light for the clock dial is so bright that I have not been able to sleep since I got the radio four days ago. I mean it is bright, you can make shadow figures on the wall from the light it puts out. I had to put a sock over the dial just to get some sleep. Now I feel foolish to have a $200.00 clock radio that I have to cover with a sock at night. Also the LEDS for the sleep and alarm function are bright enough alone to keep you awake. If you use the sleep function the LED stays on after the radio shuts off until you depress the button again and of course the alarm LED stays on all the time the alarm is set. Since Tivoli designed this to be a "bedroom radio" it is an inexcusable design flaw to not have include a means of toning down or disabling the back light for users that would prefer darkness while sleeping. I haven't tried the snooze function yet so haven't experienced the "snooze flaw" other reviewers have but it sounds pretty scary. One other clock flaw I experienced is that if I get home from work and go through my routine of getting everything ready for the next day before I settle in for the evening I discoverd that the 12 hour clock will sound the alarm if you try to set it for the next day within it seems a 2 hour window after the time you want to set the clock for the next day. In other words if you have the alarm set to wake up at 6:00 A.M. you can't activate the alarm until after 8:00 P.M. This bothers me because I personally have over slept more often by simply forgetting to set the alarm. In conclusion I cannot recommend buying this clock radio until Tivoli takes it back to the drawing board.

4 out of 5 stars One of each.......2007-03-19

We had a Model One, liked it, but my wife wanted a clock radio, hence the Model One was sentenced to the bathroom and replaced by the Tivoli Model Three. Most manufacturers make it impossible to save money on a model without clock-radio, which is apparently a cheap add-on. Tivoli, on the other hand, hits you for an extra eighty bucks for the feature. Also, unless you own the bed to yourself, you'll probably want the satellite speaker (I enjoy hearing stereo even from my side of the bed), so now you're approaching three hundred bucks.

I'd recommend the Tivoli One plus the satellite Tivoli speaker were it not for the problems I've had with the input jack on the Model One shorting out when I try to plug in my CD player. The problems with the clock radio are exaggerated by some consumers, in my opinion, and even though it uses a "top-firing" rather than "front-firing" speaker, the Model Three sounds as good as our Model One, especially with the satellite speaker.

I wish the speaker were less bass heavy (forget about adding the sub-woofer), but I have yet to read any review claiming that a less expensive brand sounds as good as the Tivoli, which incidentally was Consumer Reports' top choice among high-end radios of this sort.

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